Cruising progress 2022 (Click to enlarge)
Last reported position using Marinetraffic.
You usually need to either drag the window with our details clear of the map or drag the map away from the window with MarineTraffic. Mistroma is usually shown surrounded by a dotted outline.
Interactive map of entire 2022 cruise.
Previous: 30th June 2022
Previous: 31st July 2022
Previous: 31st August2022
4th October 2022
The sewing machine has seen quite a bit of action over the last couple of months, with bits being ripped in the strong winds we'd been having and other bits nearing the end of their lives and requiring patching. Work has now been completed on the white awning which was made a few years ago to go over the blue fitted one. During our stay in Itea marina it got ripped during the night when we were hit broadside on by a wind gust of 30kts and one side became detached, hit the wind generator and was shredded. Luckily the wind gen was undamaged, but the awning repair took a lot longer than anticipated. This additional cover makes a huge difference when it's really hot, as it reduces the temperature in the cockpit by 3 or 4 degrees. We've finally finished all the sewing that needs to be done before we're lifted out of the water.
After leaving Vathy we had another excellent sail up to Mytikas, where we anchored for five nights. When we originally visited here in 2017, the place was like a little shanty town, however it's now much improved and we found a really good tavern at the far end of the town where we ate a couple of times.
Our next stop was Paleros, which was a city of ancient Greece and is thought to date back to 2000 BC. It is now a main holiday resort, with a couple of sailing charter companies based nearby. We came across a Greek/Indian restaurant on the beach directly in from where Mistroma was anchored, so to celebrate our anniversary, we took the dinghy ashore and pulled it up onto the beach just a few feet from the entrance and enjoyed an excellent Indian meal. I think if you were holidaying here you'd definitely need a car, as other than beaches and tavernas there isn't much within walking distance.
We've had more than our fair share of mini crises over the season with two leaks in the bilges, when everything in them was soaked with salt water. Both were easily fixed, but the clear up time is much longer. We had water leaking into the dinghy at the stern, so it was hoisted on to the foredeck for a couple of days while Mike repaired a joint. More recently we were coming back to Mistroma, when it suddenly started to deflate fairly rapidly. Luckily we made it back on board and once again it was hoisted on to the foredeck for inspection. We discovered one of the joints at the bows had come apart and has been successfully repaired again.
We also experienced a few dramas on Preveza town quay, primarily with a catamaran which was being single-handed, making a complete mess while trying to leave. He scraped down the side of the boat on his right and blew across the anchor chains of several boats. Mike jumped on to one of them to try to push him clear. While that was happening, he dragged our chain causing Mistroma to fall back on to the quay. I started the engine and motored forward to keep us clear of the quay. Mike managed to jump back aboard and released about 40 metres of chain so that the catamaran could lift his chain. He then decided he was clear and started to motor away dragging our bows towards the next boat. After screaming at him, he finally turned back and managed to release our snagged chain. We sustained scratches and chips of gelcoat on the stern, but luckily nothing that can't be repaired fairly easily. Once the drama was all over we went back out and relaid our anchor with 80 metres of chain.
We had a severe weather warning for rain and thunder, so we delved into the aft locker to look for our cockpit tent, and put it up for the first time in seven years. We certainly needed it for a couple of days, with torrential rain off and on.
We spent a week on Preveza town quay making a start on all the winter maintenance work and then motored up to a lovely secluded anchorage near Vonitsa where work continued until we returned to the anchorage off our storage yard in time for our lift out. Work will continue for the next couple of weeks until we fly home.
This season has been fantastic, even though we haven't covered much distance. Most of our sails have been great, but as usual we also had to motor quite a bit as well.
